Energy competition begins today

The IU Office of Sustainability marches into a month of conservation and efficiency today as it kicks off the 2011 Fall Energy Challenge with a parade through campus.

Students and staff pledging to accept and promote the energy challenge will march through campus  at 1:45 p.m. from the Sample gates.

Will McHenry, the sustainability intern running this year’s challenge, said the initiative’s goal is to show students the influence small changes can have.

“The purpose of the energy challenge in general is to encourage participants to make small behavioral changes and to instill conservation habits,” McHenry said in an email. “Collectively, small changes in energy and water consumption can have a substantial effect on the University’s environmental impact.”

The 2011 Fall Energy Challenge will take place from today through Nov. 2.

The four-week challenge began in spring 2008, and this fall’s competition is only the second to take place in the fall.

“RHA’s goal is to increase energy and water savings in every residence hall as well as to encourage student knowledge about energy usage, participation in the challenge and leadership in center-wide energy challenge events,” Laura Appelt, Residence Halls Association director of environmental affairs, said in an email. “We hope that the motivation to participate comes not only from campus-wide groups and organizations but also from within each community.”

Find a photo booth

The Office of Sustainability has invited energy challenge participants to have their photo taken in the traveling photo pledge booth.

Participants can show their enthusiasm for the challenge by posing with light bulbs and light switches provided by Habitat Restore.

The traveling photo pledge booth will be available throughout the four-week challenge for students to make their pledge. You can schedule to have the booth come to your residence hall or academic building by emailing iuec@indiana.edu

This week the booth will be available at the following locations:

Wednesday: 10:45 to 11:45 a.m. outside of Woodburn Hall; 5 to 7 p.m. at Collins Edmondson Dining Hall

Thursday: 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. at the Read Center Lobby; 3 to 4 p.m. at McNutt Residence Center; 5 to 7 p.m. at Collins Edmondson Dining Hall
Take the pledge
“This semester, we’re focusing our efforts on increasing participant enthusiasm and involvement with the competition,” McHenry said. “We’re doing this by implementing a new promotional campaign which focuses on securing public and written commitments from participants to reduce energy and water consumption during the four-week challenge.”

Find information on the pledge forms at energychallenge.indiana.edu.

Look for energy challenge tables set up across campus where you can receive a “pledge” button signifying your commitment to the challenge.

Academic conservation

Promotion for the energy challenge is widespread among residence halls. However, Appelt said many students don’t realize the challenge exists within the academic buildings on campus, as well.

“Students who don’t live on campus can work with their professors and within their departments to try to reduce energy and water use in those buildings, as well,” Appelt said. “Some of the most spirited teams of students have worked within academic buildings to win energy challenges.”

Residence halls tips

Shorten the length of your shower.
Turn the water off when you are brushing your teeth or soaping up.
Use power strips in your dorm rooms.
Turn off the lights when leaving a room.
Ditch the elevator and take the stairs.
Academic buildings tips
Turn off lights in classrooms that aren’t being used.
Turn the water off when you are soaping up your hands.
Abandon the elevator and take the stairs.

The payoff

Each year a residence hall, academic building and Greek house win the energy challenge. The winning buildings receive bragging rights and a traveling trophy.

Since the initiative began in 2008, academic buildings and residence halls have saved 3,813,600 gallons of water and 2,578,028 kWh of electricity, according to a study conducted by Nolan Hendon, a utility conservation summer intern with the Office of Sustainability.
  
The efforts of participants have resulted in an avoidance of 9,376 metric tons of CO2 emissions and have saved the University $1,090,693 in utility costs.